Last month, legendary punk rock guitarist, Captain Sensible, did a mini UK tour. I went to see him in Bristol, at Area 81 Rock Club. Before venturing forth, I checked the club’s web site for directions, which helpfully informed me “We are located in Lawrence Hill in Bristol, between Holy Skin tattoo shop & the Pack Horse pub.” Who, I wondered, as I journeyed West, would use a pub AND a tattoo parlour as locator beacons? Then I arrived, walked past the row of Harleys parked outside the venue, met ‘Big Chris’ and realised I was in a Hells Angels bar. Suddenly it all made sense…
As always, Captain played a blinder of a set, delighting his audience with a selection of classics from his and The Damned‘s back catalogue, including ‘Hard to Believe I’m Not’, ‘Martha The Mouth’, ‘A Riot on Eastbourne Pier’, ‘The Love Policeman’, ‘Life Goes On’, ‘Glad It’s All Over’, ‘Jet Boy Jet Girl’ and ‘Neat Neat Neat’. There was also a tribute to Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, in the form of ‘Astronome Domine’, and, given Paul Gray’s presence on bass, an almost inevitable cover of Eddie and The Hot Rods’ ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’.
Although I was there to enjoy the show, not to take photos, old habits die hard and I couldn’t resist snapping a few pics with the camera I’d hastily grabbed before leaving home. With a top useable ISO of 400 and a slow zoom lens, it was, of course, completely inappropriate for taking shots in a venue whose stage seemed to have less light escaping from it than a black hole. Still, you know what they say, the best camera is the one you have…
The Captain Sensible Band appear next on 7th August at Rebellion Festival, in Blackpool. Then, on 9th November, The Damned (featuring Captain Sensible) commence an unmissable 35th Anniversary tour, upon which they will play their debut album ‘Damned, Damned Damned’ (the first punk rock album ever released in The UK) and their 1981 proto goth masterpiece ‘The Black Album’, in full, from start to finish.
© 2011, Paul D. All rights reserved.
